


The Rules of Rich

by TheMangosity



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Gen, being rich, fashion - Freeform, winning the lottery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 13:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11944947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMangosity/pseuds/TheMangosity
Summary: Yugi wins the lottery and Kaiba teaches him the ways of being rich. Who knew being rich could be so difficult?





	1. The Rich Club

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after the end of the series. When I came up with this idea, I couldn't not write it! I'm positive this is how Kaiba would react! Enjoy!

This banner was made for me by Admin T, one of the admins for this Big Bang. I love it so much! It's very cute! :D

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/158446089@N03/36520717790/in/album-72157685833253984/)

Yugi isn’t normally one to gloat. Really, he isn’t, but sometimes it’s just so easy when Kaiba is involved.  
  
“It says here I’m richer than you.”  
  
“Does it really?” Kaiba says without taking his eyes off his computer monitor.  
  
Yugi keeps his eyes on the magazine, turning the page casually like he isn’t intently focused on messing with Kaiba. “Yeah. Is it true?”  
  
“I don’t know. Look it up yourself. KaibaCorp publishes all of its earnings online.”  
  
“But that’s KaibaCorp. I’m talking about you.”  
  
Now Kaiba looks up, annoyed and angry with just a hint of reaching the end of his rope. “Need I remind you that peace and quiet doesn’t involve yapping at me every ten seconds?”  
  
“Right. Of course. I’ll be quiet now. Duelist’s honor.” Yugi flashes his best innocent grin.  
  
Kaiba stares back at him with the usual scowl. “I’ll be finished in twenty minutes. You think you can manage to keep quiet for that long?”  
  
“Okay. I’ll try.” Yugi thinks he hears Kaiba mumble something like “You’d better do more than try,” but decides not to comment. He goes back to reading the latest issue of Duelist Monthly. He and Kaiba have both made it onto the cover more than once, but never for something unrelated to Duel Monsters.  
  
“How the King of Games became the King of Gains. Exclusive interview!” the cover proclaims.  
  
There really isn’t much to it. He bought a lotto ticket and he just so happened to win. That’s all there is to it. Granted, some have said that isn’t all there is to it. He’s heard talk that his win isn’t fair, that he only won because he’s the King of Games. He can’t deny that he’s thought the same thing once or twice. Maybe being the King of Games has its perks outside of Duel Monsters. It’s almost enough to make him want to buy another ticket just to test it out, but he’s afraid of actually winning again. Then people would really be on his case.  
  
For the most part though, people have been really supportive. His grandpa almost had a heart attack when he found out, his friends were ecstatic and his Duel Monsters fans have been sending him fan mail like never before. Then there’s Kaiba, who called to congratulate him a couple of nights after they announced his victory, who told him he would help him figure out what to do with the money if he wanted. Did winning the lottery get him into the rich club and that made him worth talking to? Or maybe Kaiba was just trying to make up for all the grief he caused a few months ago when he dug up the pharaoh’s grave. If this is as close as he can get to saying he’s sorry, then that’s all right with Yugi.  
  
It’s still a little weird to be sitting in Kaiba’s office waiting for him to be done with...whatever it is he’s working on. Some corporate something or other that Yugi doesn’t understand. Once Kaiba is finished, they’re supposed to talk about Yugi’s options for investing. Yugi has an economic advisor, but apparently Kaiba has his own perfect scheme for how Yugi should invest his money.   
  
_Please be legal_ , Yugi thinks. Kaiba doesn’t seem like the type to cheat the system for success. His pride wouldn’t allow it. On the other hand, he’s also the kind of guy who doesn’t always play by the rules. Yugi has no idea which side of Kaiba comes out when he’s dealing with money. He’ll just have to see and pray this doesn’t land them both in jail.  
  
“Yugi.”  
  
Yugi jumps and whips his head up to find Kaiba staring at him. From the look on his face, Yugi can tell he must have called his name more than once.  
  
“Uh...has it been twenty minutes yet?”  
  
“No. I’m just amazing,” Kaiba says. “Now let’s get to work.”  
  
Kaiba opens his desk drawer and pulls out a surprisingly thin folder. “I came up with some companies you might be interested in.”  
  
To Yugi’s surprise, Kaiba doesn’t really spend much time explaining his suggestions. He sort of just tells Yugi to invest and moves on to the next thing on the list, like he has somewhere to be or something, which is weird since Kaiba’s the one who called Yugi here in the first place. At least his suggestions are things Yugi’s economic advisor never would have thought to recommend. It’s mostly no-name gaming companies Kaiba thought Yugi might like. He even mentions Industrial Illusions, which puzzles Yugi to no end.  
  
“I thought you hated Pegasus.”  
  
Kaiba narrows his eyes. “I do, but I’ll be the first to admit he’s a mad genius. Always thinking eight steps ahead. As much as it pains me to say it, Industrial Illusions is usually a good bet. Anyway, that’s that. Now that that’s out of the way we can get to the important stuff.”  
  
“Investments aren’t the important stuff?”  
  
“Sure, but I’m talking long game.” Yugi always thought investments were all about the long game, but Kaiba’s the expert here. Kaiba folds his hands on his desk and leans forward. “I’m going to be blunt, Yugi. You’re rich now. If you want people to respect you, you’re going to have to step it up.”  
  
“Huh? What do you mean?”   
  
“I mean you’re going to have to start looking the part and acting the part.”  
  
“Oh. Are you trying to tell me I have to start buying more expensive clothes?”  
  
“Among other things. Let’s just say there are certain rules to being rich. You have to buy the right brands. Own the right number of helicopters.”  
  
Yugi blinks. “Are you serious?”  
  
“Am I ever not serious?”  
  
“No. I guess not.”  
  
“Trust me, Yugi. With that much money, you’re going to need help figuring out how to spend it. Who better to teach you than the richest man in all of Domino City?”   
  
Yugi laughs a little. “Really.  _You’re_  going to teach me how to spend my money.”  
  
“Did I stutter?”  
  
“No, but you did just tell me I need to buy a bunch of helicopters.”  
  
“So?”  
  
“Are helicopters really necessary for being rich?”  
  
“You never know when you’ll need one.”  
  
Yugi laughs again, but he can tell Kaiba is being completely serious. Since when did Kaiba care about helping other people? More importantly, since when did Kaiba care about helping him? Yugi wants to ask Kaiba why he’s being so nice, but that would just be rude. Maybe he’s just lonely up at the top.  
  
“Okay,” Yugi says. “Other than helicopters, what else do you need to be rich?”  
  
“Lots of things,” Kaiba says. “But first things first.” Kaiba gestures dramatically. And here Yugi thought Kaiba only did that during Duels. “Rule number 1, Yugi: look sharp no matter what. Image is everything.”  
  
“Hey. Are you saying I don’t look sharp?”  
  
“Sorry, Yugi, but your school uniform isn’t going to cut it anymore.”  
  
“But I like my school uniform.”  
  
“How long have you been out of high school again?”  
  
“It’s only been a few months!”  
  
“That’s a few months too many.”  
  
Yugi crosses his arms. He can feel himself pouting. Okay, so Kaiba’s not the first person to mention this, but he’s been trying to wear other things lately. He just so happens to like his school uniform the best. That’s not a crime.  
  
“So are you in or what?” Kaiba asks, and that patience is wearing thin again. “Because it’s all the same to me.”  
  
But it’s not all the same to him. Yugi can tell. Kaiba wants him to let him help him. For some reason. Does he feel guilty or something for all the years of ignoring him and not wanting to be his friend? Kaiba always has been a hard read.  
  
“I guess so,” Yugi finally says. “Grandpa has been telling me I need to expand my wardrobe.”  
  
“Good. I’ll send Roland to pick you up tomorrow at 8AM.”  
  
“W-Wait, what? Why?”  
  
“You’re getting your measurements taken at Duelist Mode. I already had Roland make the appointment.”  
  
“What? Already? You didn’t even know if I would agree to this!”  
  
“It was a gamble, and it paid off.” Kaiba pauses. “By the way, the answer to your question is no.”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“You asked if you’re richer than me. The answer is no.”  
  
“Oh,” Yugi says, smiling. “How much until I catch up?”   
  
Kaiba doesn’t answer right away, but eventually he gives Yugi a very exact number, and Yugi laughs.  
  
“Then I guess I need to find a job.”

* * *

An hour later Yugi finds himself at Burger World, Joey’s treat. He feels a little weird letting Joey pay for him, considering his newfound wealth and everything, but he doesn’t have any cash on him, and he’s really hungry.  
  
“Don’t you think it’s weird Kaiba’s being so nice to you?” Joey asks, leaning back in his chair. His plate is empty and they barely just got here.  
  
“A little,” Yugi says. “But I think he actually wants to help me.”   
  
“But...why?”  
  
“I’m not sure,” Yugi admits. “Maybe he remembers what it’s like to suddenly have a bunch of money.”  
  
“Eew. Are you trying to say Kaiba has a heart?”  
  
Yugi laughs. “Maybe. You never know.”  
  
“Well, whatever he’s after, you be careful. I don’t want Kaiba robbing you blind.”  
  
“Kaiba doesn’t have any reason to steal my money.”  
  
“You can never be too careful.”  
  
“He’s not actually doing anything with my money. Just telling me what to do with it.”  
  
“Really? So what’d he say?”  
  
Yugi frowns, remembering Kaiba’s cruel comments about his school uniform. “He hates the way I dress. He’s making me go buy a whole new wardrobe.”  
  
Joey pauses for a long while. “Huh. For once me and Kaiba agree on something.”  
  
“Hey!” Yugi thought that Joey would at least have some sympathy. “Is my fashion sense really that terrible?”  
  
Joey snorts. “No offense, Yuge, but you’ve been wearing your school uniform every day since I first met you.”  
  
“I didn’t wear it yesterday.”  
  
“Fine. Ninety percent of the time. The point is Kaiba’s got the right idea.” He visibly shivers. “I can’t believe I just said that.”  
  
Yugi tries to make taking a bite out of a hamburger look indignant, but it probably just makes him look really hungry.  
  
“Look on the bright side, Yugi. He’ll probably show you where he gets all those fancy suits of his. Just...uh...don’t let him convince you to start dressing like him. That would be a nightmare.”  
  
Now it’s Yugi’s turn to shiver. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always imagined that Yugi's friends would eventually encourage him to wear something other than his school uniform :D


	2. Clothes Make the Duelist

True to Kaiba’s word, Roland shows up at Yugi’s house right at the stroke of 8. Yugi hasn’t had to wake up this early in months, not since he graduated from high school. Well, except for when he has to open up the game shop, but at least then he gets to have fun helping the customers. This is just torture.  
  
“Rule number 2: when you’re rich, everything happens early in the morning,” Kaiba told him yesterday. “So you’d better get used to it.” Yeah, Yugi is going to have to have a word with him about that.  
  
Yugi slides into Kaiba’s gleaming limo, but the only one in the car is Roland. “Where’s Kaiba?”  
  
“Mr. Kaiba had to attend a last minute meeting,” Roland says. “He’ll meet you there later.”  
  
“Oh. Okay.” Yugi doesn’t know if he’s relieved or not. Without Kaiba there, he’ll be at peace to buy whatever he wants without Kaiba judging him or anything, but he’s never been inside a ritzy department store before. He was sort of hoping he could just follow Kaiba’s lead.  
  
It doesn’t take them long to reach the store, Duelist Mode. Yugi has passed it a few times on the way to the arcade, but he never dreamed he’d ever be going inside. The place is like any other expensive department store, except with an emphasis on Duelist fashion. Yugi guesses this is where Kaiba gets all of his weird outfits.  
  
“Mr. Kaiba should be here soon,” Roland says as Yugi gets out of the car.  
  
“Okay. Thanks, Roland,” Yugi says with a wave, and Roland smiles like no one has ever thanked him for anything in his entire life.  
  
Before going inside, Yugi looks in the windows to see what he’s about to get himself into. They’re advertising their 2 for 1 deal on a bunch of shiny new deck boxes. He might just have to leave with one of those. Yugi goes inside and a bell above the door jingles. It reminds him of the bell above his game shop’s door, only somehow fancier and more sophisticated.  
  
“Welcome to Duelist Mode,” one of the shop attendants says. “Oh, hello, Mr. Yugi.” It shocks him more than it should that she knows his name. Of course she does. Kaiba said he had an appointment, and he is the King of Games inside a store that caters to Duelists. “You’re here to get your measurements taken, correct?”  
  
“Uh...yes. And just Yugi is fine.”  
  
“Of course. Now if you’ll just come right this way, we’ll have you measured in no time.”  
  
Yugi doesn’t like her smile. It reminds him of all the supervillains and ne’er-do-wells he’s had to face over the years. She isn’t evil, just fake. Plastic. Yugi doesn’t like being kissed up to. This sort of thing is why he wishes Kaiba was here. He’s sure Kaiba loves being kissed up to.  
  
The clerk leads him to a waiting area at the back of the store and tells him the tailor will be right with him. Yugi puts his hands in his lap and tries to wait patiently. He wishes he had brought that issue of Duelist Monthly. Aren’t waiting rooms supposed to have magazines? At least there’s a TV in the corner, but it isn’t on. Must be broken. If only he had a smart phone. Téa’s been telling him to get one for years, but he’s just never gotten around to it. That’s probably just one more thing for Kaiba to bother him about.  
  
“Hey, short stuff. I haven’t seen you since you hit it big.”  
  
Yugi grins. He’d know that voice anywhere, even if it has inexplicably changed over the years. “Mai? What are you doing here?” Then he turns around and gets a look at her and knows exactly what she’s doing here. She’s dressed exactly the same as the woman who helped him before. “You work here?”  
  
“Only part time,” Mai says. “A girl’s gotta make money between tournaments, right?”  
  
Yugi completely understands. He’s been known to hoard shifts at the game shop and become a workaholic during the Duel Monsters off-season. Video games don’t pay for themselves, not even when you’re the King of Games.  
  
“I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up here,” Mai continues. “All the Dueling bigwigs shop here. Kaiba. Your buddy Duke Devlin.”  
  
“To be honest, Kaiba’s the one who forced me to come,” Yugi admits. “He hates the way I dress.”  
  
Mai laughs and Yugi gets the feeling she agrees with Kaiba’s reasoning. “Then come with me and we’ll see what we can do about getting you measured.”  
  
Yugi follows Mai into a hallway at the back of the store that’s lined with doors on either side. She leads him into one at random and closes the door behind them. “Okay. I’m going to need you to take off your shirt and pants.”  
  
Yugi sputters a little. “W-Wait a minute. You’re going to measure me?”  
  
“Yeah. Who else did you think was going to do it?”  
  
“Aren’t there any...you know...men who can do it?”  
  
Mai covers her mouth with her hand, but fails to hide her smile. “Yugi. Are you afraid of me seeing you in your underwear?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Mai laughs a genuine, friendly laugh and pokes him in the ribs with her elbow. “Come on now, Yugi. We’ve known each other for, what? Three years now? What’s one time seeing you in your underwear?” Yugi can feel his face getting hot, and it only makes Mai laugh harder. “Come on. I promise I won’t stare at you.”  
  
Mai eventually convinces him to do it by telling him to close his eyes, although she very unhelpfully points out that his eyes being closed won’t stop her from seeing a thing. She measures every inch of him, his height, his arms, his legs, and parts of him he didn’t even think needed measuring for trying on clothes.  
  
“There,” she says an eternity later when she’s finally done. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”  
  
“No.” But he has the feeling this is going to come back to haunt him someday as particularly cruel blackmail. He’s just glad Mai didn’t comment on what a small person he is.  
  
“Okay, sit tight. I’ve got just the thing for you. I promise you’ll love it.”   
  
With that Mai goes back out onto the floor, leaving Yugi alone in his undershirt and boxers in a fitting room inside a fancy department store he never dreamed he’d set foot in. Is this really what being rich is all about? Kaiba seems to think so, but Yugi is starting to think Kaiba is an overly materialistic weirdo. Then again, he already knew that.  
  
Mai takes forever to come back. Yugi is thinking about getting dressed and going to see if she forgot about him when he hears her knock at the door. Before he can tell her to come in, the door opens and in walks Kaiba.  
  
Yugi makes a very unmanly squeaking sound and jumps back. “Kaiba! Get out of here!”  
  
Kaiba is seemingly unfazed. “What? Are you afraid to be seen in your underwear?”  
  
“Yes! Why does no one think this is weird?”  
  
Kaiba sort of just stares at him intently for no reason other than the fact that Yugi’s presence sometimes causes him great physical pain. Or so Yugi has always believed. Yugi stares back with what he hopes is equal intensity. Staring contests are the only way to deal with Kaiba sometimes, but it’s a little hard to maintain when he’s in his underwear and Kaiba is in a finely tailored suit. It’s white, of course.  
  
“You have nerd bod,” Kaiba says.  
  
Yugi’s brain short circuits for a second. “Excuse me?”  
  
“Rule number 3: never get nerd bod.”  
  
Seto Kaiba just insulted his flabby little nerd body. The nerve of some people! “Is that why you have a...a  _twelve_  pack?” Yugi tries to fire back, but Kaiba only smiles in that evil way he does when he’s about to let loose a surprise trap card.  
  
“As a matter of fact it is. Nerd bod will creep up on you if you let it, you know.”  
  
Yugi can’t think of anything good to say back. Sure he spends all his free time coming up with Duel Monsters strategies and playing video games and generally avoiding physical activity, but Kaiba doesn’t have to rub it in.  
  
Kaiba takes his phone out and starts typing something out, looking way too happy for Yugi’s comfort. “What are you doing?”  
  
“Texting Roland,” Kaiba says. “I’m getting you a gym membership. You need it. Badly.” He can’t even say it with a straight face, and that’s weird because Yugi didn’t think there was anything Kaiba couldn’t say with a straight face, that being his default expression and all. And that’s when it occurs to Yugi that Kaiba is messing with him. This must be payback for trying to flaunt his wealth yesterday. What a low blow. Okay, maybe he deserves it for interrupting Kaiba’s work so many times, but still.  
  
Before Yugi can tell Kaiba to go away or something, Mai comes back in with an armful of clothing.  
  
“Kaiba, there you are,” Mai says as she hangs the outfits up on the pegs along the wall. “I told you it wouldn’t be hard to find.”  
  
“Wait a minute,” Yugi says. “Did you tell him to come back here?”  
  
“Why wouldn’t I? He was looking for you.”  
  
“You knew I was in my underwear!”  
  
“Well, why didn’t you put your clothes back on while I was gone?”  
  
“Because I knew you were bringing something for me to try on and I was just going to have to...Oh, I like that one.”  
  
Dangling from a ridiculously intricate hanger is the finest set of clothing Yugi has ever seen in his life—a double breasted blazer with gold buttons and a matching set of pants. It’s his favorite shade of blue, and Yugi thinks he’s in love.  
  
“You’re here to diversify,” Kaiba says. He’s sitting in a chair somewhere behind Yugi, and hopefully not looking at Yugi’s underwear. “That’s nothing but an upgraded version of your school uniform.”  
  
“Let the guy dress himself,” Mai says with a wave of her hand. “Go on, Yugi. Try it on.”  
  
Yugi doesn’t need telling twice. Or at all, really. He’s dressed faster than the time he was almost late to the Duel Monsters world championship in Berlin. Kaiba was right about one thing. This is just a fancy version of his school uniform, and Yugi couldn’t be happier.  
  
“I love it. I’ll take ten.”  
  
“Do I know you or do I know you?” Mai says, looking proud. “Are you sure you don’t want to try on anything else?”  
  
Yugi tells her no, but she and Kaiba convince him to try on some of the other outfits Mai picked out for him, Kaiba especially. Yugi is starting to think Kaiba has always secretly hated the way he dressed. In the end he winds up buying five of the school uniform lookalike and a few other things, including one of the deck boxes he saw in the window earlier. It’s the most money he’s ever spent at one time in his whole life.  
  
“So are you happy now?” Yugi asks as they’re walking out of the store, shopping bags held at his sides.  
  
“Sure,” Kaiba says, though he doesn’t sound too thrilled. “At least you’re on the right track.”  
  
Kaiba’s phone beeps, and when he looks at it, he smiles in a way Yugi doesn’t like. “Oh, would you look at that? Roland came through on that gym membership. Congratulations, Yugi. You’re a proud member of 24 Hour Duelist.”  
  
Yugi only grumbles. He will get back at Kaiba for this someday. Probably at the next Duel Monsters tournament.

* * *

Later that night, after Grandpa is done oohing and aahing over how nice Yugi’s new expensive clothes are, after Yugi has put everything away, Yugi gets a text message. It’s from Kaiba.  
  
_Kuriboh underwear? Really?_  
  
Yugi frowns. He thought Kaiba simply hadn’t noticed his Kuriboh-print underwear, but he should have known better than to think Kaiba wouldn’t notice something so obvious.  
  
“My grandpa got me those for my 15th birthday.”  
  
Yugi deletes that. It’s better not to give him ammo to be able to tease him about barely growing in all that time.  
  
“My grandpa got me those for my birthday.”  
  
That just sounds lame.  
  
“I like Kuriboh.”  
  
He does like Kuriboh, but Kaiba would just laugh at him if he said that.  
  
“I can wear Kuriboh underwear if I want!”  
  
Too defensive.  
  
Yugi racks his brain for something decent to say, but he can’t come up with anything that won’t make Kaiba laugh at him or get that little smirk on his face. Yugi finally settles with, “Go to sleep, Kaiba.” And Yugi goes to sleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this silly story :) I'm so glad I could be a part of this Big Bang. Thanks again to Admin T for making that banner for me! Thanks for reading!


End file.
